"I feel there are 2 contenders" - Saba Karim on India's next T20I captain
Saba Karim has named Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav as the two contenders to be India's next full-time T20I captain. He pointed out that it will be the first call the selectors need to take before picking the squad for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka.
The Men in Blue will face the Lankan Lions in three T20Is and as many ODIs, with the first T20I to be played in Pallekele on July 27. While Shubman Gill led a young Indian side to a 4-1 T20I series win against Zimbabwe, a full-time shortest-format captain will likely take over the reins from the Sri Lanka series.
During a discussion on Sony Sports, Saba Karim pointed out that choosing Rohit Sharma's successor as India's T20I skipper will be the selectors' first job.
"The first thing that needs to be decided is who will captain in T20Is. Rohit Sharma has retired, he won't play T20Is. So you will have a new captain. I feel there are two contenders," he said.
The former India wicketkeeper-batter pointed out that Hardik is the logical option as the Men in Blue's next T20I skipper.
"If we see logically, Hardik Pandya should become the captain because he was the vice-captain in the winning World Cup campaign. He also captained India in the past. I feel the preparation now should be for the next T20 World Cup which is going to happen after two years," Saba Karim elaborated.
Saba Karim reckons Suryakumar Yadav is the other candidate for India's T20I captaincy role.
"I feel the discussion should be about SKY because Suryakumar Yadav captained India in the home series against Australia. India defeated Australia there and he also batted well. So he can definitely come forward as an option," he reasoned.
Suryakumar captained India in seven T20Is, five against Australia and two against South Africa, last year. The Men in Blue won five of those games, with the middle-order batter smashing 300 runs at an average of 42.85 and a strike rate of 164.83 in seven innings.
"The selectors and head coach will have to think whether he can take the team forward as a captain" - Saba Karim on Hardik Pandya
During the same discussion on Sony Sports, Saba Karim noted that the Indian selectors and Gautam Gambhir will have to decide whether Hardik Pandya is the ideal candidate to take the team forward.
"As far as I feel, the discussion will be about who will take the team forward in T20Is, who is the most suitable candidate. As I said, since Hardik Pandya has been the vice-captain, he should be made if you see logically, but in the end, the selectors and head coach will have to think whether he can take the team forward as a captain," he said.
"If the selectors feel Hardik Pandya has played a fantastic role and can do the same as a captain as well, he can definitely be the ideal candidate. So I feel these are the two contenders," the former India selector added.
Hardik has led India to 10 wins in 16 T20I games. He also captained the Gujarat Titans to the IPL 2022 title and the IPL 2023 final but had a horror run this year in his maiden season as the Mumbai Indians skipper.